Christmas Carol - Language Techniques

Question 1

Repetition of the same sound, usually letters in close succession.

Answer 1

Alliteration

Question 2

An indirect reference to a concept or theme without explicit mention.
[Scrooge uses Biblical allusion as he believes the Ghost of Christmas Present is God or at least related to Him in some way, ‘It has been done in your name, or at least in that of your family”].

Answer 2

Allusion

Question 3

A word which refers to a previously used word

Answer 3

Anaphora

Question 4

Rhetorical device where contrasting concepts are placed together in a text, typically a sentence, to highlight how opposite they are. [When Fred is introduced having a
“cheerful voice” straight after Scrooge’s wickedness is described].

Answer 4

Antithesis

Question 5

A list broken up by commas rather than conjunctions like ‘and’.

Answer 5

Asyndetic Listing

Question 6

Language which appeals to the reader’s hearing.

Answer 6

Auditory imagery

Question 7

Relating to the bible; religious connotations.

Answer 7

Biblical

Question 8

A dramatic tool which is used to speed up the plot.

Answer 8

Catalyst

Question 9

An informal phrase common at its time of utterance.

Answer 9

Colloquialism

Question 10

Using text to create implied meaning without explicitly referring to said meaning.

Answer 10

Connotation

Question 11

A moral message, meaning to give instructions.

Answer 11

Didactic

Question 12

When the audience knows information which the character does not know.

Answer 12

Dramatic Irony

Question 13

The perfect/ultimate embodiment of quality.

Answer 13

Epitome

Question 14

Apprehension that a bad event will occur.

Answer 14

Foreboding

Question 15

An indication that an event will occur later in the narrative. [Fan says that her father is much “kinder” than before which Scrooge’s change].

Answer 15

Foreshadowing

Question 16

Use of exaggerated statements.

Answer 16

Hyperbole

Question 17

Sudden remark, used often as an interruption or aside in the text. [“Bah Humbug!”]

Answer 17

Interjection

Question 18

Embedding a meaning by using language typically implying the opposite of what the writer is intending to express, often for a humorous effect.

Answer 18

Irony

Question 19

Comparing two concepts, characters, or clauses, in close proximity in a passage for the effect of contrast.

Answer 19

Juxtaposition

Question 20

Comparing two concepts, characters, or clauses, in close proximity in a passage for the effect of contrast.

Answer 20

Juxtaposition

Question 21

An instruction on what is right and wrong, the Ghosts provide this.

Answer 21

Moral imperative

Question 22

Appeals to the reader’s sense of smell.

Answer 22

Olfactory imagery

Question 23

Two opposing terms are placed next to each other.

Answer 23

Oxymoron

Question 24

A kind of personification in which human emotions are projected onto nature, especially weather, often to create a mood. [In the opening pages of the novella, Dickens notes “no wind that blew was bitterer than [Scrooge], no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. “ By attributing emotions to this weather Dickens can contrast it with Scrooge to show how bitter, unflexible and uncharitable he is]

Answer 24

Pathetic Fallacy

Question 25

Attributing human qualities to nonhuman things, whether animate or inanimate [e.g. in Stave One, the church tower is described as having a “gruff old bell [which is] always peeping slily down at Scrooge”. This instance of personification indicates Scrooge’s attitude towards religion; he may see it as cold or unfriendly as well as having a tendency to meddle or intrude on his private affairs]

Answer 25

Personification

Question 26

This is normally accompanied with some sort of irony, or when characters get what they deserve. [As a child Scrooge was “neglected” and then in the prolepsis, his gravestone is also “neglected”

Answer 26

Poetic Justice

Question 27

Listing using conjunctions such as ‘and’.

Answer 27

Polysyndetic Listing

Question 28

A flash forward. e.g the scenes that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge.

Answer 28

Prolepsis

Question 29

A writer uses words which are linked by a theme or topic throughout a text or passage.

Answer 29

Semantic Field

Question 30

Criticizing people through the use of humour or irony. [Scrooge says “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart”].

Answer 30

Satire

Question 31

Repetition of ‘s’ sounds.

Answer 31

Sibilance

Question 32

In musical notation, a ‘stave’ is a set of five horizontal lines where music is written and each often represents a different musical pitch.

Answer 32

Stave

Question 33

Relating to the arrangement of words within a sentence within a text.

Answer 33

Syntactic

Question 34

Using one object or character to represent a wider concept running throughout the novel. [Scrooge symbolises the attitudes of the upper class].

Answer 34

Symbolism

Question 35

An adjective describing the highest degree of what it is. [The Ghost of Christmas Past has clothing of the “purest” white.]

Answer 35

Superlative

Question 36

Language which references or manipulates time.

Answer 36

Temporal deixis

Question 37

Three parallel phrases/words are placed in succession within a text, without interruption.

Answer 37

Tricolon